Saccharine
by Teddystock
Summary: One partnership can lead to many different things. Kirito x OC
1. Chapter 1 :Madelines:

Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, but I do own Myruki (Mah-roo-kee) and my OC's.

* * *

ソードアート・オンライン Sword Art Online

©2012 Reki Kawahara

Saccharine

Chapter One

It had been two weeks since Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of Sword Art Online, revealed that it was a matter of life and death for the players. The log out button vanished, and the only way to escape the game was to clear all one-hundred floors. Players from all over had different reactions to the startling news. Some joined up with each other to defeat the many bosses, some left to start their own inns or stores, and then there were the people who were gone - lost forever because of a mere game, but SAO wasn't a game. At least, not anymore.

"Two weeks already." Myruki said. She was strolling through the town. The light-posts lit up the town square, where many of the most popular businesses were. Several owners were already putting up 'Closed' signs, and innkeepers could be seen going out to buy last-minute supplies for their inns. Myruki noticed one particular store though. She stared up at the brown and orange sign 'Teddystock' hanging above her. It was strange seeing so many players trying to live out normal lives. Curious, she opened up the home-screen and tapped on the word 'Restaurants'. It wasn't long before she found a thorough descriptive of the place because it was the only piece in the system.

_Teddystock _

_Located on Floor 9 in Chrim's Town_

_Founded by the Sweetness Guild in November, the Teddystock restaurant and Caf__é_ offers a wide range of food choices, a warm atmosphere, and a fairly convenient location with Chrim's official Inn and food market right around the corner. Don't forget to stop by today for our early bird special - one fresh pastry of your choice FREE and a medium cup of our own specially brewed coffee for only a fraction of any other cafe's price. For a limited time only, so stop by now and receive an experience that you'll never forget!  


_Open 7:00 am to 8:00 pm _

___Monday - Saturday_  


_Subject an application __here for any available job opportunities._

Myruki closed the advertisement. She was truly horrified by its words. A large amount of players were fixated on clearing the game while players who worked in places like Teddystock were fixated on living a normal life. It was as if they had completely forgotten all about the events that happened two weeks earlier. Myruki sighed, unaware of the unknown person standing directly behind her._  
_

"Excuse me," said a soft voice. "Would you like to come in? We're supposed to be closing soon, but I think we can make another exception." Myruki slowly focused all of her attention onto the owner of the voice. There was a woman in front of her wearing an orange dress with the name 'Annie' monogrammed near her ruffled collar. The woman's resemblance was similar to one of those fancy hotel maids back in Floor four, from the white apron tied up by a neatly formed bow around her waist to the black Mary Jane shoes worn by her tiny pale feet.

"I guess it couldn't hurt. Thank you, Annie." Myruki answered, following her into the large caf_é_. The interior inside was very welcoming. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, giving off a warm glow to the room. Two customers were already present; a male eating a sweet pastry alone at a table in the corner, and another purchasing freshly baked croissants from the display of food in the front. They both wore no armor, causing Myruki to assume that they were residents of the town. Moments later, she was sitting directly across from one of those customers. Myruki examined the player as Annie said she'd bring a small cup of green tea - a favorite drink choice of hers back in the real world.

"Do you want anything else to go with it?" asked Annie, glancing down at the girl curiously.

"No thanks."

The girl went away for a few minutes, and came back to find an empty seat.

* * *

Myruki ran across the grassy field. She felt somewhat guilty for leaving the caf___é_ so early, but time was of the essence. The floor's boss was already found and the front lines were scheduled to fight it at exactly midnight to avoid anyone else interfering with the battle. She had offered to be a part of the main group. It wasn't long before Myruki could see tents pitched on the field. Three guilds and some solo players had all agreed to join up to fight the boss, regardless if they were beta testers or cheaters or a mix of both. Many people were aiming to collect the rare drop from the monster; the item was unknown, but nevertheless it had to be valuable.

"Myruki," Asuna yelled out to her. "Where were you? I was so worried." Asuna was the sub-leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath, the guild known as the strongest in Aincrad. She excitedly ran over to Myruki, embracing her in a tight hug. She had only just met Asuna a few days ago, but the girl instantly took a liking to her.

"Ah, sorry. I was told to get some healing potions from town." Myruki nervously took two vials out of her pocket belt. She had only been wearing simple clothes forged by alchemy. The black boots worn by her feet were a drop from a common monster, and her dark black hair was freely let loose behind her back.

"Say, did you get a partner yet, Myruki?" Asuna took the two vials of the strange liquid and placed them on top of the small table beside her. Several of the other players were sitting soundly nearby, eating delicious stew made by the head chef. The culinary system was one of the most popular career choices in Aincrad, but anyone involved usually lacked vital battle skills.

"As in love partner?"

"No!" Asuna laughed cheerfully.

After calming down, she appeared tense. "Sho volunteered to check the surrounding forest area, but he never returned. Heathcliff ordered everyone to stay in the camp area while he and a search group are looking for him. Until then, everyone is pairing up with a partner to avoid any other disappearances. Many of us are also assuming Sho's dead…" Myruki watched as Asuna's grip on her sword tightened. The stern look on her face lingered on for a few more seconds until it was replaced by Asuna's usual cheerfulness.

"So, I got you a partner!" The sub-leader slightly arched her head over to the left. She waved at a boy oddly dressed in black; his hair was the same color. His back faced away from them, his head glancing about the camp every now and then.

"Kirito!" Asuna called.

Myruki saw as the boy turned around. He ran to them; his black cloak flapping freely in the wind. Apparently, the boy had an interest in dark colors for his looks, clothes, and sword were either black or a color close to black. It wasn't long before he was in front of them; his eyes glancing over to Myruki for a brief moment before looking over to Asuna.

"Asuna, what is it?"

"This is your new partner. Take good care of her, Kirito!" Without warning, Asuna left in another direction.

"I'm Myruki." She opened her hand, waiting for the boy to shake it.

"Kirito." He gently placed his hand in hers.

"Oi, Kirito. Who's that?" A male player with green hair suddenly strolled up to them. He looked to be around eighteen. Myruki was younger than him by two years. Kirito would probably be around her age too. She watched as he was slightly shocked by the sudden presence.

"Tadashi? Your guild's fighting against the boss too?"

Tadashi smiled, shoving his hands into the two side pockets of his pants. Myruki noticed that he was wearing a red bandana around neck. It made him look like some sort of cowboy. "Why would we do that? You know, everyone's pairing up because of that one kid. What's his name again? Shuji? Shiro? Wait, I've got it. Sho! Yeah, that kid named Sho." Tadashi peered curiously down at Myruki's light blue eyes.

"Ah, who's this? Are you in need of a partner, miss...?" Tadashi paused to look at her username.

"Myruki?"

Slightly annoyed, Kirito interrupted them. "Tadashi, she's already with me."

"I see now," Tadashi complimented with a wink; his voice with a hint of peculiar knowingness to it. "Anyway, I better go make sure the other guild members aren't messing with Klein. See you both!" The boy ran away with a quirky grin on his face, suggesting he knew something that even she and Kirito didn't know about.

"Ah…" Kirito said sheepishly. "That was Tadashi, a member of the guild Chameleons. They've come in here to bargain with the Knights of the Blood Oath for any extra HP or equipment. We should be seeing them gone as soon as soon as the boss is defeated." He tugged at his sword slightly as if he could sense that something was about to happen. Clearly, his instincts were correct. Loud screams and cries were heard just when a monster began to materialize a few feet from where they were. The creature looked terrifying with its vicious teeth and sharp claws. It looked like a mixture of several animals - a wolf, a horse, and a bear.

"It's the boss!"

Three players were the first to strike the beast. Kirito later joined in, and Myruki followed after him with her sword out of its original place. She slashed the monster to the side, stepping back to allow other players to jump in. Asuna ran to the boss, stabbing her sword in it while Kirito used one of his special abilities. It only took a few minutes before the monster disappeared completely, surprisingly leaving no visible item drop behind.

"That was too fast. Something's not right." stated Kirito.

Asuna replied back to him without hesitation. "We cleared this floor, didn't we?"

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks to blackopalz21 and azunyan3478 for helping me with this story. Fight scene in this chapter was meant to be short since this is the first chapter, and now Saccharine will be randomly featuring Teddystock's Café foods in the chapter titles just for the heck of it.

Express your thoughts of this story in a review. We'll be happy to read them.

Also, please excuse the profile. It's still under construction right now.


	2. Chapter 2 :Croissants:

Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, but I do own Myruki (Mah-roo-kee) and my OC's.

* * *

ソードアート・オンライン Sword Art Online

©2012 Reki Kawahara

Saccharine

Chapter Two

_Floor 15 - Unnamed Village - Five weeks after November 6, 2022._

"I-I can offer you this for less than that." A young merchant choked out, laying down the item on the wooden counter before him. His shop specialized in clothes, hats, glasses, and jewelry of various kinds. For the special lantern event that day, trinkets were set aside the shop's counter as well.

"It's not enough!"

"W-what about this one?"

"Asuna, don't you think that's enough?" Myruki said gently, pushing Asuna back away from the stammering merchant. She had been accompanying the girl to what was supposed to be a quick visit to the nearby town's market. They had planned to spend the whole day around the town while the others were searching for the floor's boss. Kirito and a separate group of solo players decided to venture around the forest area, searching for any sign of a possible boss. Apparently, many players were still fearful about what happened to Sho Izanami for they continued to stay in pairs.

"He almost tried to scam us!" Asuna stated, flustered as she made her way through the large crowd of people.

"But he's trying to make a living. Besides, shouldn't we be looking for our house right now?" The two had bought a house together a day after arriving on the floor. It didn't cost much since the Knights of the Blood Oath had volunteered to pay for the expenses. It was a 'gift' from Heathcliff himself thought Myruki was a bit skeptical about the kind deed; it was fairly unusual for the well-known leader to do things like that.

"Didn't you have the map?"

"Let me check." Myruki dug around her pockets until she felt the rough texture of the old map in her hand. She pulled it out, careful not to rip the piece, and examined it in front of her.

...

...

...

"Well?"

"According to this, our house should be over here."

"Then let's go."

The scent of roasted pork soon filled the air as Myruki followed closely behind Asuna. It was delicious and almost intoxicating. Myruki had not eaten much during the past few weeks. It was almost a pattern for her—training, fighting, and occasionally fishing in lakes or rivers. The constant cycle left little time for eating or resting, causing Myruki to eat meals at cheap restaurants or diners instead and if she was fortunate enough, she would rest at an inn that served breakfast, but those were too uncommon.

"Myruki?" Asuna asked. She had stopped in her place to turn around.

"Hm?"

"Are you hungry?"

* * *

Myruki sat in her seat, leaning her head back against the chair. She and Asuna had finally made it back to their house where Klein and some of his guild members were already there somehow, eager to taste Asuna's excellent cooking. It was dark and the house was lit. Freshly made warm soups, sandwiches, and bread dishes were scattered across the living room table. The house was far away from the town, but the view was amazing from a distance. The forest, on the other hand, was dangerously close around the house's location as well. But what did she have to fear?

"Ruki, can you pass the bread basket?" Klein asked excitedly, stuffing a sandwich in his mouth.

She didn't do what he requested especially since his plate was completely flooded with food. While his other guild members chose to eat like civilized beings; one boy eating a sandwich slowly; another carefully dipping an assortment of berries in whipped cream and eating them with a bowl of nuts; Klein was the one who chose to fill his plate up fully as if he had been starving for months. Sandwich upon sandwich covered in salted potato chips, a pile of lettuce leaves drenched in ranch dressing and garlic buttered croutons, so many tiny bowls of soup that a grocery store wouldn't be able to satisfy his specific needs. It was terribly disgusting to watch Klein.

"Myruki, could you please pass me the bread basket?"

"There's no room on your plate, Klein." Asuna interjected. She sat down on the red couch just as someone barged startlingly into the room; the door slammed open, revealing Kirito with a strangely panicked expression on his face.

"Kirito!?"

"We found him!" He gasped out.

"Who?"

"Sho! Come on." Kirito led the way out of the house and into a close by cemetery, one of which wasn't even mentioned on any of the database's maps. It was a forgotten location and eventually, Myruki was able to see it for herself. The air was noticeably dense and through the fog, she could barely see a boy lying down seemingly unconscious on the floor; he was surrounded by members of the Knights of the Blood Oath guild and some other unknown players. Thankfully, one of them was searching a bag for any medical supplies.

"Here was found here ten minutes ago, unconscious." A KoB guild member said, kneeling down to hand Sho an HP potion. The boy had shaggy brown hair and his clothes were ripped in many different places; it was as if he had been attacked by someone or something. Myruki stayed a few inches away from Sho while Asuna leaned down to examine the player. Meanwhile, Kirito and Klein were gathered around with the rest of the others, discussing the many possibilities of how and why Sho had ended up on the floor. Hesitantly, Myruki decided to take a seat next to Asuna. She stared down at the boy, entirely aware that it could be forever before his awakening.

Asuna was the first one to break the silence.

"He should be waking soon. Did you take anything with you from the house?"

"Just this." Myruki carefully pulled out a wrapped up sandwich from her inventory. She handed it over to Asuna who placed it onto the hard ground. It was then that she noticed Sho beginning to emerge out of his unconscious form.

"Sho?"

There was no reply.

"Sho!"

The boy's eyes suddenly jerked open. He glanced over at everyone, starting at Kirito to Myruki to Asuna and to the others beside them. Something in Sho's eyes gave off the illusion of fear; it was something not worth ignoring.

"Someone attacked us. I don't know who it was!"

"You need to rest." Heathcliff stepped out of the shadows; his red and white guild uniform glowing from the fire that Klein had made earlier. It was strange to Myruki to finally be able to see him in person. She had never seen him before.

"How long was he here?" He asked.

"Around thirty minutes since we've arrived." Asuna replied, attention turned directly toward Heathcliff.

"Bring him back to base."

"Right!"

Using several teleport crystals, everyone arrived safely in a inn on Floor 15. The innkeeper seemed somewhat startled by the sudden arrival, but he eventually returned to helping a young female customer, who was impatiently ringing the bell at his desk.

"Your rooms are over here." One of the inn's employees said while carrying a small stack of fresh towels. The man led them to a relatively large room on the third floor of the building where Klein and his friends cautiously placed Sho on top of one of the beds. Kirito sat with Asuna on the couch next to the window. Heathcliff and another KoB member stood around Sho, asking him what had happened to him. Myruki, however, settled on sitting quietly on a single bed near the table-lamp. She later noticed Kirito coming over to her; he looked rather content as he sat down right next to her.

"Kirito, what is it?" She questioned.

"It would be easy to imagine someone like you being in a guild."

"I don't want to be one," Myruki frowned, falling backward to rest on the soft covers of the bed. "Most guilds spend less time in clearing the game and more time in doing real world things. This game _seems_ real. It _feels_ real, but it's _not_. That's what separates us from people back at home. It's like the players here have forgotten about what's happened over the past weeks."

"That's why players like us exist." Kirito responded. He arched his neck over to look down at her. "Even though those kind of players try to live their lives out normally, we're here to clear the game. And when we do, it'll give them hope that this game _can_ be defeated, but right now this is how they stroll away from all of their problems—by trying to be normal, whatever normal to them is."

"What if they never escape?"

"Then it's their decision not to. Not everyone can make it out." The black-haired boy tensed immensely after saying finishing his line. His features darkened a bit, nearly clarifying the idea that he may have lost someone he cared about in the game.

"Kirito?"

He stared at her questioningly, waiting for her to finish her sentence.

"Do you want to stay partners?"

Her answer was only but a slight smile as a loud knock caught everyone's immediate attention.

"I'll get it." Laughed one of Klein's guild members. It was a boy with dark green hair and blue eyes. He made his way to the door, standing in front of it to look into the small peek-hole attached.

"It's just a small—" Before he could continue, there was a sharp sword pierced through his chest and through the door The joking look on his face quickly faded away and was replaced by a horrified look. The boy collapsed onto the carpeted floor with Klein and Asuna rushing toward him as fast as their legs could take. Right when he began disappearing in crystal-like shards, he held onto Klein's trembling hand. The guild leader had tears streaming down his face and he made no real effort to wipe them away. Then there was only an empty space where the boy once was.

"Why'd he have to die?!" Klein wailed, covering his face with his two hands. Asuna investigated the halls; she searched for any possible clue to who was responsible for the cruel and unexpected act.

"It's them."

"Who?" Myruki asked.

"Laughing Coffin, the player-killing guild."

"But that guild has been dormant for weeks!"

"It couldn't have been them." Kirito stated. "Their killing style is more sadistic. They would have made themselves known instead of fleeing the scene. The killer could have most likely been an enemy of that player."

"Then who killed Rin?" Klein sniffed loudly, hands running through his pink hair.

"I don't know."

"That's enough." Heathcliff interjected. "We've been through enough today. The Knights of the Blood Oath all have their own rooms throughout this inn. Sho will stay in this room with a special team. You all will move to different rooms. We will discuss Rin's death later on."

"Understood."

* * *

"Long day!" Asuna exclaimed, stretching and then stopping to sit on her bed. Myruki was on the opposite side of her. Kirito, Klein, and the rest were spread across the inn in another room together. The warm atmosphere of the room was enough to get rid of the chilling feeling after witnessing Rin fall to his death. It was still a mystery though on who killed him. The question was who would want to kill him anyway? Myruki could tell the boy had humor and meant absolutely no room to everyone, but in the game, it was hard to define who could be trusted and who couldn't.

"Look at those lights. It's the lantern festival today in this village."

Myruki looked out the window at the place Asuna was looking at. She could see it clearly; people exploring the village happily together. Most were clutching onto paper lanterns. Some were hanging lanterns around their stores. It was a spectacular sight to see. The town itself resembled a festive Asian theme, and it was a lovely town to say the least—a small number of deaths, people with overall friendly personalities, a thriving economy, and a terrific place for players to settle in.

"Why don't we go out too? The people here seem to be having fun."

"Okay." Asuna smiled cheerfully.

The two made their way out of the inn and into the lively streets. Kirito had declined the offer of tagging along with them, but Klein, on the other hand, agreed happily to accompany them. The pink-head had calmed down slightly after Rin's death, making the walk much easier.

"Take one! Take one!" An older woman handed them all red paper lanterns.

"Thank you!" Klein thanked the woman excessively until he was pulled away by some other annoyed players, who too wanted paper lanterns of their own to carry around.

"It's so crowd here." Myruki mused.

"They say that special monsters come out during this time. I heard the item drops were great!"

"Is it true?"

"Could be. If I heard it correctly from Tadashi, the lantern monsters should be somewhere around this town. They only stay for three days with their strength increasing immensely on the third day. Many players keep the drops that they receive from the monsters because the drops are worth ten times the amount in auctions months after the festival."

"Paper monsters? It sounds peculiar..." Asuna trailed off, pondering through her thoughts.

"Why don't we try finding them, for fun?" Klein bit hungrily into his kabob bought from one of the numerous standing food stands around the entire area.

As though his wish were granted, a large monster appeared out of the sky, landing right in front of them. The creature looked exactly like the lanterns hanging in town, except the version before them was much bigger and was alive. Players began taking out their weapons, including the trio themselves. They all joined together, attacking the creature from several angles until it's HP bar decreased rapidly eventually hitting zero, and dropping a massive load of drops onto the cold ground.

"What's this?" Myruki picked up a fallen item from the floor. She examined it curiously. Klein and Asuna did the same thing, each picking up their own drop.

Obtained «**Benevolence**»

* * *

Author's Note: I apologize for the long wait for this chapter, and I hope I didn't disappoint anyone here! I had originally started the second chapter of Saccharine a while back ago, but got carried away with my daily life. Thank you also to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited this story.

Express your thoughts of this story in a review. It will gladly be taken in a positive way.


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